Blumenauer Statement on the 10 Year Anniversary of 9/11

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) issued the following statement regarding the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001:

Like Franklin Roosevelt's December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor, "a moment that will live in infamy," the memories of 9/11 are seared in the minds and hearts of all Americans.

That instant in the House, where in the manner of Congress we had been discussing issues of the day -- international health, a budget surplus (imagine that), business initiatives - when the Parliamentarian took me aside to say that a plane had hit one of the World Trade towers. I returned to my office to watch the second tower explosion.

There were some in shock. Some panic. As the drama unfolded with the plane hitting the Pentagon, another flight was unaccounted for and rumored heading our way.

Our nation's Capitol is like a small town of 15,000 people. It was, in a sense, a microcosm of what was happening across America as people were horrified, grieving, shocked and frightened. Before the day was over, some of the numbness, fear, apprehension, and anger had worn off and was replaced by caring for the victims and their families, indeed for all our families who had been victimized that day.

9/11 gave a view into the best and worst of humankind, and the strength of America. Today, so many of our problems are actually under our control but terrorism and associated violence continues. It has not faded or been replaced, but it has been joined by apprehensions about our family's security, health, future of their planet, and their economic wellbeing.

We still mourn those who died but let 9/11 be a stark reminder of not just of the loss, but of American resolve, commitment, caring for one another, and determination for a better future.

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